


Paper Flowers

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Kid Fic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-04-06 03:37:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4206498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur Pendragon is the meanie in Merlin's reception class. But one mother's day, everything changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paper Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Happened to read Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" last week, and apparently, 7 days is not enough to get over its depressing awesomeness. Keyword; Depressing. So I need to write something cheese tangy to get the taste out of my mouth.  
> And hence, this unplanned, unexpected result.  
> (On the subject of the Kite Runner, it is, in short, a painful painful PAINFUL book which, for some sadistic reason, I highly recommend that you read. Seriously.)

Arthur Pendragon was a meanie. There was no doubt whatsoever about that. He pulled Freya's pigtails last Friday, pushed Gilli into a puddle of mud on Tuesday and made fun of Will's nose on the monday before monday before monday before the monday before the Easter holidays. Merlin knew he did, 'cause Merlin counted. Arhtur Pendragon was a horrible little boy, as horrible as the icky earthworms that kept wriggling about in mum's little garden patch.

(In retrospect though, Merlin didn't  _really_ dislike those funny little pink  worms. They were squishy and Mordred said they were chewy too, but that was just gross. Mordred said a lot of silly things, but then again, he was a  _baby._ Merlin had, of course told him that if he kept on trying to eat worms, none of the boys would want to kiss him. Everybody laughed and Mordred said that he didn't want any boys to kiss him. That was weird. Doesn't everyone want a boy to kiss them? Merlin certainly wouldn't mind.)

One time, Arthur was throwing paper balls at the kids in the front row. One hit Kara thwack on the head, and she began to cry. Merlin turned back and frowned at him. "Stop it!" He said. Arthur stuck his tongue out at him and threw another paper ball right in his face. It hit him between the eyes. "No." He replied. Merlin glared at him.

"You're a meanie!" He said. "You're a horrible, nasty meanie!" 

Arthur just stuck his tongue out. So Merlin told Miss Alice and Miss Alice put Arthur in the Naughty Corner until playtime. 

Since then, Arthur picked on Merlin like there was no tomorrow. He threw spit balls at him, poured sand on his head at the sand pit, and whenever he could get close enough, he pulled on his ears. And Merlin retaliated by calling him all the funny names he could think of (starting with prat and ending with fatty. 'Cause Arthur was a fatty.)

Mum told Merlin to ignore Arthur and tell miss Alice if Arthur really hurt him. But the thing was, no matter how much Arthur pulled on his ears, he never pulled hard enough for them to hurt. Not like he hit Val when Val pushed Gwen off the swings. Arthur had a mean black eye the next day and Gwen gave him a kiss. And Arthur being Arthur, wiped it off with a very loud "Ewww!"

As for Arthur's mum, Lord knew what she said to Arthur, 'cause whenever someone starts saying something starting with "My mummy says-" Arthur hit them. Or threw something at them. Arthur's mum never came to school to pick him up. Or to the Christmas play. Or the summer fair. Arthur's Daddy didn't either, but that was okay. Merlin had seen him once, and thought he was a bit like the bogeyman that Will's Dad said was lurking in the toolshed. 

"Alright class!" Miss Alice clapped her hands. Merlin had been making faces at Arthur's back until she came, and that had made Gwen and Freya giggle a lot. Merlin liked to make them giggle. Girls giggled when they were happy, and Merlin liked to make people happy. 

"You know what's on friday don't you?" 

"YES Miss Alice!" Everyone yelled. Friday was mothers' day, and Merlin wanted something special to give his mum, who was the best mum in the whole world. 

"It's mothers' day, Miss Alice!" He shouted out. Miss Alice laughed. "Yes children, it's Mothers' Day. Now, this week, we're going to make cards and flowers for your mummies, to tell them how very very special they are. You like that, don't you?"

Merlin nodded, as did everybody else. Except Arthur. Arthur was strangely quiet. 

Miss Alice handed out cards and pencils and coloured paper so they could make their cards and flowers. Merlin was going to make a bunch of blue roses for mum. Mum loved roses, and Merlin loved blue. He was going to draw a dragon on the card, 'cause dragons were funny and there were dragons in the book mum was reading to him this week. Maybe he might draw a book too. Merlin loved reading with mum at night. And he loved mum's bedtime stories. Oh, and mum made a wicked chocolate cake! Maybe he should draw one of those on his card too. 

"That's a nice card Merlin," said Miss Alice and Merlin beamed with pride. His cake was very lovely and the dragon looked really good. But he needed to look nicer, Merlin thought. Maybe he should paint the dragon purple. 

Merlin turned and looked to see who had the purple crayon. Gwen had the pink one. Will had the green one. Gwaine had the black one, so where-?

Oh. Arthur had the purple crayon. And he wasn't even using it. The pig.

Merlin got off his seat and slid close to Arthur. He was staring at the board with his little fists balled up. His card paper was blank, not even a single line written on it. The tissues he'd been given to make the flowers, though, were cut into neat little red petals. 

"Aren't you drawing anything for your mum, Arthur?" he asked politely. Arthur glared at him. "None of your beeswax, Emrys." he snapped. "Go away!" 

"I just wanted to ask if I could have the purple-" 

"Go away!"

"You're not even using it! Why d'you have to be such a meanie all the time!" 

"I said, go away!" screamed Arthur, banging the table really hard. As if on cue, the purple crayon fell to the ground and broke clean into two. 

Merlin stared at him. "You're horrible." he said. "you're really really horrible. No wonder nobody likes you! You're a horrible horrible meanie, and you know what, Arthur?" he said, on a sudden inspiration. "Nobody likes you. And nobody could ever love you. Not even your mum."

As soon as he said it, Merlin knew it was the wrong thing to say. Arthur went as pale as the sheet of empty paper lying on his desk, and his eyes went as wide as saucers. It scared Merlin. A lot.

"Arthur-?"

Arthur picked up the broken crayon and thrust the pieces at Merlin's face. "I hate you." He whispered. And Merlin really felt like crying.

Merlin's mum loved the flowers and the card, when she came to pick him up on Friday. She said Merlin must be very clever to draw a dragon and a cake and the flowers and all that. And the blue roses were simply  _divine!_ Merlin laughed as she picked him up and kissed his nose. Mum was the best in the world. No one would argue on that.  _  
_

"Now what do you say to a- oh, hello." Someone tugged at mum's skirt as she put Merlin down. Merlin caught a flash of red flowers and blonde hair;  _Arthur._ What was he doing here?

Apparently, that was what mum needed to know too. "Hello there dear," she said in her Mum-voice. Arthur smiled at her very shyly. "Hello." He said, holding out his bunch of red poppies. They were very pretty, much prettier, Merlin thought, than his roses. "These are for you." Arthur pushed them into Hunith's very surprised hand and ran away as fast as he could. 

Mum looked at Merlin, bemused. 

"Was that a friend of yours, love?" Merlin shook his head. "That was Arthur.

Mum was very quiet on the way back home. She'd gone into to say hello to miss Alice, and come back looking real sad.

"Mum?" Merlin asked that night, when she'd finished reading him the Hobbit. "Why did Arthur give you his flowers? Didn't his mum want them?" Mum sighed and looked at Merlin. And gave him a big kiss. 

"Arthur doesn't have a mum, lovey. His mother died when Arthur was born." Arthur didn't have a mum? Then who made him cakes on the weekends? Who kissed his knees when they got hurt? Who read him stories at bed time? Merlin knew Arthur's daddy was very busy and never had time to come and see him after school. If Arthur didn't have a mum, Merlin asked his mother, who did all those things for him? 

"Nobody, Merlin. Some children have nobody."

Nobody, Merlin thought. Nobody to love and hold and kiss and hug and feed them soup when they're sick- that was sad. Poor Arthur, he thought, feeling bad about the mean things he said.  Someone should love Arthur. Lots and lots and lots. 

 He's going to apologise on monday. That would be nice. 

"Merlin caught Arthur at the swings on Monday morning. He was alone, there, no one pushing him up and down, and his little feet didn't touch the ground. He didn't look up when Merlin came to him. 

"Mum liked the flowers." He said, wanting to hold Arthur's hand, except Arthur might punch him if he did. And he didn't want that. "I'm sorry I was mean to you about the crayon thing. I'm sure your mum liked you a lot." Arthur was still silent. Merlin felt a bit like an idiot talking to Arthur who didn't say a word. He turned away to leave. And found that he couldn't, because Arthur was clutching his arm, and looking at him with his blue blue eyes. (Blue like the sky, and Freya's ribbons and mum's roses). 

They stared at each other for a minute until Arthur found his voice. "I'm sorry too." he said softly. "I've been a meanie haven't I?" Merlin nodded sagely. "That's okay." he said. "But don't be a meanie Arthur. Not any more."

"It's easy to be a meanie when no one likes you." Arthur said. (Many years later, Merlin wondered how he had been so articulate back then, when he was the most retentive person he knew now).

"My mummy likes you." Merlin said. "She asked me to give you this." And he kissed Arthur on the cheek. And surprisingly Arthur beamed, instead of wiping it off.

 

 

Many years after the "Mother's Day Incident" as Hunith liked to call it, happened, Arthur would sling an arm around Merlin's shoulder and claim that Merlin had kissed him in Reception. To which Merlin would retaliate that it was only on the cheek and that it was actually from his mum, and that four and a half year old him didn't have such horrid tastes. To which Arthur would reply "Don't be an idiot Merlin," and proceed to shut him up with a very long (and obscene) kiss, which Merlin would return with full fervour. And all their friends would yell at them to get a room.

And so they would. Not because they were ashamed, but because there were some parts of their love that was theirs and theirs alone, and Merlin smearing bright purple paint on his lover's skin and Arthur mouthing at the hollow of his throat were little private moments that no one would intrude on. 

And if, every Mothers' Day, no matter rain or shine, Arthur insisted on visiting Hunith (Merlin joked that it was for the chocolate cake), there was no doing back on it.

And if, Hunith Emrys had a vase full of garish blue roses and red poppies sitting in the middle of her living room, twined around each other in a lovers' embrace, well, who was to comment?


End file.
